Man suffers work accident claim from fiery explosion

One man recently suffered a work accident claim when a fiery explosion engulfed him, resulting in horrible facial burns.

58 year old David Lightfoot of Cockermouth, Cumbria had been given the task of some welding work on a chemical plant silo that was filled with nearly 400 tonnes of terephthalic acid, a highly inflammable component regularly used in the manufacturing of plastics and related industries.

Mr Lightfoot’s personal injury at work occurred shortly after he began his welding duties, as a ball of fire bloomed right in front of him, engulfing his head in flames.

Mr Lightfoot reported that not only did the flames sear the flesh of his face badly, he was also forced to jump off the platform and drop 10 feet to the ground in order to avoid even more seriously burning himself in the resultant conflagration.

The unfortunate worker was left with permanent facial scars as a result of the incident, for which the Indorama Polymers company has already admitted liability.

Relating the particulars of the accident claim in a recent interview, Mr Lightfoot described how one of his colleagues aided him in extinguishing the flames while he ran to douse his face in water.

At first, Mr Lightfoot barely felt any pain whatsoever due to being in shock. Once he had been brought to hospital, in A&E his face swelled up “to the size of a pumpkin” whilst the man felt what he could only describe as an “incredible” amount of pain.

Mr Lightfoot remained in hospital for over two weeks due to the severity of the injuries he sustained. Now, he says that even two years after the work accident, he still experiences pain. Cold days are especially painful, Mr Lightfoot said, due to the tightening of his skin from the cooler weather.